9 tips for working from home with kids

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In our new "Mompreneur series," I will be sharing
experiences, tips and advice for being an effective mother and
entrepreneur in the Middle East.

If you are a mom and an entrepreneur who works from home, you
might find it hard to concentrate on work with your kids
around.

It's toughest when you have toddlers underfoot.
At that age, their attention span is almost non-existent, which
makes it difficult to distract them with toys for more than a
couple of minutes at a time. It's also impossible to leave them
unsupervised in a non child-proof environment.

Most moms who stay and work from home also often
feel guilty sending their kids to daycare. By keeping them at home,
you might convince yourself that you'll manage to get things done
without sending them away or paying daycare costs. But between
feeding time, diaper changing and dealing with a tantrum, the day
can be over and you've only finished 20% of your tasks.

With a few tricks, however, you can manage to
actually work around your kids, rather than try to work with them
around.

Turn your house into a fully childproof
environment. Toddlers like to crawl around the house and
explore every corner, so this can distract them for a good amount
of time. Just make sure there is nothing to worry about. You can
use this childproofing checklist to ensure that
you're not forgetting anything.

Implement a routine.Children
are calmer when they know what is coming next. When they are used
to a 30 minute playtime after breakfast, they will be anxious to
get to it, while they will start yawning while having lunch if they
know nap time comes next. Don’t forget that early sleeping routines
are both a healthy habit for small ones and an efficient one for
you. My 16 month-old sleeps from 6pm to 6am every day, and has an
hour long nap at noon, which allows me to work for a good two to
three hours in the evening.

Refer to games. For
example, teach your toddler to play a silent gamewhen
your Skype or your phone rings. This can turn into a routine, as
toddlers get used to not making noise when you are on a call. When
you just have to take a call with your child in the middle of a
tantrum, you can use the situation as an icebreaker, start the
meeting, and ask to push it back five minutes to calm the baby
down.

Save TV time for
when you have a meeting or need that 30 minutes of full
concentration. If your baby is used to sitting in a
stroller, keep a light one around the house and use it for TV time.
With a seatbelt on, toddlers won't try to crawl around, and are
more likely to have a quick nap.

Make your child familiar with your
work. As toddlers get older, explaining what
you're doing at work will help them understand why you have to sit
at a table or take meetings instead of playing with them. Use your
work stories as bedtimes stories, and talk about your colleagues so
your kid is familiar with their names. This can become a soothing
conversation you can use to turn your child’s attention away from a
noisy toy or a tantrum.

Have a specific workspacewith its own rules, like no toys or noise
allowed in. This also helps your toddler understand that when you
are in that room or space you will not be answering his demands on
the spot, but he needs to wait a little before you do
so.

Delegate housework.Reach out
for your spouse’s help with work around the house. Even if you are
the one staying in, he can pitch in. In order to motivate him, have
him babysit for a day to better appreciate how difficult it is; in
contrast, asking him to do few chores will seem very easy.
Involving your toddler in the housework, like coming to bring
laundry to the washing machine, and picking up toys is also a
good way of keeping him busy.

Schedule outings for your child.Invite your spouse to dedicate two hours a day for a couple
days a week to take the baby out, whether it is to the supermarket
or to pay grandma a visit. You can also agree with another mom on
swapping the kids once or twice a week for a couple hours as
well.

Don’t exhaust yourself by waking up earlier
than your toddler and sleeping
later. This is not always a good
strategy to follow, as your productivity and physical stamina will
be affected by your lack of sleep. Work on better organizing your
daily hours instead and prioritize different tasks for different
times according to the napping times of your kid.

To stay motivated, it's also important to
remember why you are working from home from the first place.
Whether you choose to freelance or start your own company, your
family was likely a part of the reason for that decision to stay at
home. So don’t try to do it all and slow down. Keep in mind that it
gets better week after week and that it is a temporary period. In
no time, your kid will be four years old and they will want to
spend more time playing alone or with their siblings, giving you
more space and time.